Your Corner Wrench: Customize with caution

Some homemade vehicle modifications can be dangerous, or even deadly, in a collision

by
Brian Turner | March 14, 2017

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It’s no secret that mass-produced vehicles are produced for, well, the masses, right? Not rocket science, is it? But for just about every make and model on the road, there’s an owner or two – or a hundred – who have taken wrenches, hammers, drills and the like to either put their own stamp on their ride or to make it more comfortable to drive or provide more utility. What’s wrong with that? Not much, until you get involved in a collision.

Stay seated.

Things have gotten much better for the height challenged or extra tall drivers lately, with automakers finally getting the message that one size does not fit all when it comes to seats. But there are still those who think, “If I just drilled some new holes I could easily remount my driver’s seat for a more comfortable ride.” The problem is, they fail to realize that the seat mounting points on the floor have been specifically engineered, created and reinforced to keep things in place in the event of a collision. Trying to remount any auto seat by drilling new holes is tempting fate – for in most cases, in the event of a collision, the new mounts will fail, sending the seat and its occupant in the direction of the impact force at a lethal rate of speed.

Leave the wood in the forest.

YouTube, Facebook and any other number of social media sites are chock full of videos and pictures of interior modifications of full-sized vans, buses and similar vehicles that have had their interiors heavily modified for mobile home use. Often the main material used in these rolling renovations is wood, and lots of it. While wood was a common auto construction material in the early part of the last century, auto engineers eventually learned it left a lot to be desired when it came to crash worthiness; it tends to splinter, crack and fracture rather than bend and fold to absorb impact forces like metal. Factory-built motorhomes also use a lot of wood, but most of it is light-weight processed fibre to minimize injury in a collision. And while not every make and model of factory motorhome receives the same level of crash testing that regular vehicles do, they are professionally engineered to minimize risks. If you really want to create your own home on wheels, keep your materials on a diet, fasten things well and realize whatever you put in place, no matter how carefully, can quickly become a lethal projectile in the event of collision.

Racks and carriers.

No doubt about it, a truck bed rack can make work life a lot easier. But many look at professionally made racks and carriers and think, “I can make my own for a fraction of the price.” They then head off to their local supply centre for an armload of pipe and connectors. While most severe collisions will seldom leave even the best-engineered rack in place, at least they will stay intact and not break into metal spears to impale anything in their path. The same can hardly be said for homemade units.